Winter yummies

There's something about being in the colder climates and having soup frequently. It's like an instant hug for your insides and brings back childhood memories. Beef stew, fish chowder, tomato soup...the list goes on and on.
One of my co-workers brought in a cauliflower bisque for lunch one day. She was raving about how good it was, and it smelled wonderful. So I asked her for the recipe and made my first batch. This time I added curry to it. Another friend added fish to it for her version of fish chowder. I'm imagining so many things to do with this. It is so flexible and a great base for other ingredients. I think next time I may add bacon.
Almost vegetarian and easy to make. All you need is a blender at the end. You could use either a hand or full sized one. Just as long as you can it pureed and creamy without lumps.
All you need is:

1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic (more or less depending on your personal preference)
1-2 Tbsp butter (I use the unsalted kind. Again, your preference as to how much)
4 cups chicken stock
1 head cauliflower
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz chedder cheese (I use white)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sautee onion in melted butter until translucent. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add stock and cut up cauliflower. Simmer until caulilflower is mush. Trust me on this. Add heavy cream and cheese. Stir together until cheese is melted. Transfer to blender, approximately 3 cups at a time. Using the highest setting, run until smooth.

I added the curry at the same time as the cauliflower so it could infuse in. I'm looking forward to trying different seasonings in this. Currently this and pumpkin soup seem to be the lunches of choice for my daughter and I.

The weather is up and down, and as the winter settles in for the long haul here in Maine, I've also been working on hats, mittens and gloves that are destined to be Christmas presents. I can't wait to work on some stuff for me, especially to spin some. My poor neglected wheel. I can't even make eye contact with her right now.

I have some exciting news coming soon, so stay posted for that. Just as a teaser-6 new patterns.

Since that is pending, I will be posting more when I have exciting news. Most of my days are spent either at work or just doing fox and geese mittens. Same old same old. Not really post worthy, especially since there is already one on these mittens.

I can't wait to hear from you.

September 11 2001-2014

13 years ago our whole outlook on the world changed. I got a phone call from my best friend to turn to a news channel-any one because it really didn’t matter. A plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. At the time it was thought to be accidental. And then the 2^nd plane hit, in came the news about the Pentagon being hit and a 4^th plane missing with the speculation it was aimed for the White House.

I sat there stunned and numb. Should I get my daughter from school? At 4, she wouldn’t understand. My 3 year old son certainly didn’t understand why he wasn’t watching Blue’s Clues. We lived in such a remote town in western Maine surely there wasn’t any threats to us. Disbelief and horror overtook me watching desperate souls jumping from the towers. The unthinkable happened-they fell. The lost 4^th plane crashed in Pennsylvania.

During the days, weeks and months that followed the country came together with a renewed determination that we stand with each other. I was able to travel to Ground Zero. There was reverence, sorrow, support, prayers and love for everyone lost.

There are no words to describe the appreciation I feel toward our first responders and their families. They run into the dangers. Even knowing that these buildings were unstable, they gave the ultimate sacrifice to attempt to save people they didn’t know. To the silent heroes of Flight 93 who gave their lives to make sure that our nation’s capital was not attacked. We know the stories of the innocent civilians and military personnel that were in the buildings and perished.

In the midst of our world’s chaos on this day, we come together as a country again to mourn the losses and to celebrate the heroes. Survivors are interviewed, we are updated on babies that were born on that day and we ask each other if they remember what they were doing the day our country changed. We were united in common goals. To find survivors and to bring home those who had perished. To offer up prayers for the souls lost. Street vendors stayed to make sure essential personnel were fed. Restaurants delivered meals. Clothing, personal care items were donated and given out. On this day we remember our solidarity.

And then that feeling of togetherness fades. We go back to fighting over politics. Conspiracy theorists begin again on why the US was hit. And it saddens me. I know other countries deal with terrorism on a constant basis. I know we have the threat of world war. I know we have civil unrest over racial divides. But I also know that when we join together in a common goal, this country is capable of greatness. That is what I take away on this day-the admiration and the hope we can join together again to help our fellow man not only in the face of horror, but also in everyday moments. That we all CAN get along. I know that there will always be terrorism. Not everyone will be able to get along. But there is always hope. So thank you to first responders, nurses, doctors, military personnel and volunteers who give of themselves to help their fellow man. Thank you to the everyday heroes that go unnoticed but continue to do.

Things to ponder

It amazes me how quickly time flies. I had thought I posted more recently, but I now see I haven't. I also realized how long it actually is since I've seen friends.

~Take time to send a quick email, Facebook note or even something by snail mail to let people know you're still thinking of them. They DO understand the hustle of everyday life, and the fact that most of us don't have the money to travel.

~Take time for you. Even if it's 5 minutes of reading. Just take that moment to refocus and breathe, especially after a hectic day.

~Always hug your specical people and tell them you love them. They know you do, but it's also nice to hear it.

~Learn something new to keep your brain and fingers mobile. As knitters we seem to get into a rut with techniques. I hate the holes wrapping and turning leaves when working short rows, so I avoid them. Recently I've taught myself "German Short Rows". Amazing to use and no holes! I'm designing a shawl right now in a wonderful new yarn to be debuted by South West Trading Company, and it features these rows. I love it. While doing stockingette stitch:
On knit side, bring yarn to front. Slip first stitch as if to purl. Bring working yarn to the back by looping it over the right needle. Knit the next stitch normally. You will have a funny looking stitch with both legs pulled over the right needle. When working the "funny stitch", just knit or purl it as normal, making sure to go through the legs.
On purl side, yarn to front. Slip first stitch as if to purl. Bring working yarn around as if it's a yarn over, purl next stitch normally.
When working garter stitch, the only difference is that you slip the first stitch purlwise, bring yarn over right needle to the back, and knit on.
I've also discovered how to cast on for ribbing, although that is a bit trickier.

On the cooking front, it's harvest season here. I'm baking a lot of zucchini bread. Thankfully it freezes well. I'm also going to try out relish.

Pictures to follow.

Happy Mother's Day!

I guess the title says it all.  I want to wish all of the mothers out there a day filled with love and laughter with your children.

Wow!

Ok, so logging on made me realize it's been over a year since I've been here.  And so much has happened in that year.  A couple of the hardest have been becoming single again and losing my beloved furbabies to a house fire.  Thankfully no one was home at the time, but this has been a very trying year.
I am making an attempt to be online more, and this entry is the start of that.  Healing is a slow process, but we seem to be doing ok.
We've moved back to the area I grew up in, and I've finally become employed at 2 places I know I'll have fun working at.  No more overnights unless absolutely necessary, and I think part of the guilt of leaving my kids home alone all night was a big part of me not allowing myself to heal.
The next step is getting a dog, hopefully another pug or puggle.  I need animals in my life, it's just the type of person I am.
So, here's to healing and one day at a time.

Mohair

This can be a touchy category of yarn.  Most of the mohairs I've run across are the ones that leave you feeling like you've rolled in fiberglass.  I really never touched a mohair I liked, even blended as in Brown Sheep's yarns.  Admit it, you've been there.  A yarn labeled "kid mohair".  Everyone you've spoken to love it.  It's this fluff attached to a nylon binder that underwhelms and leaves you literally scratching, fluff flying everywhere and the patience of a saint required when you need to frog back.  So with all this negative review of the stuff, why on earth am I writing up a blog entry?

Enter in Colinton Australian Angoras.  I'm currently knitting up a White Lotus Stole in their 3000 Ultrafine Laceweight.  And it's like no mohair I've ever touched before.  No itchies at all, no blobs of fluff shedding off the stole.  I had to rip back-slowly because of past experiences-and it didn't catch on the fluff.  This is a sturdy, 2 ply laceweight yarn that's smooth and 100% kid mohair.  No nylon binders in sight, no bouclé curls.  And the colorway is a wonderful deep golden color called honey. 

The stoles and shawls come in these great kits called Tucker Boxes.  Everything you need comes in the box, except for the knitting needles, steel crochet hook and blocking materials.  You even get samples of Unicorn Fiber Wash solutions. 

The pattern itself is designed by Jackie E.S. of Heartstrings FiberArts.  It’s well written, easily memorized, and knits up quick. 

I’m super excited about this opportunity.  And I’ve borrowed a picture of the yarn from Colinton, just because my camera seems not to do the yarn justice.  When the shawl is less of a blob with beads I’ll post pictures of it.

The Next Generation

I'm not sure if I've ever really said how I became a sock knitter here.
I walked into A.C. Moore on a day they were having a knitting group there. One of the ladies was working on a loom, and another was working on a sock. I asked her if sock knitting was difficult, and got the snarkiest "No" I've ever heard from a knitter. I vowed to learn, and haven't looked back since.
Which brings me to the point behind this post. Last Friday I was at my LYS with a friend who needed sock yarn to make her DH a pair. There was a young woman and her mother, and they seemed a bit overwhelmed. The shop owner was busy, so I offered to help them. Turns out the daughter was working on her first pair of socks and was stuck at the heel, and was considering putting them aside and starting an easier pattern. She was from Wisconsin (I also gently pointed her in the direction of Elizabeth Zimmermann and Meg Swansen) and the shop owner there had given her a pattern that was confusing, but had kindly highlighted most of the instructions for her size. We plopped down on the couch, and with her mother taking notes we worked our way through the dutch heel instructions. I gave them my email address in case there were any more problems, but I doubt there will be. She seems to be a natural, she had done the heel flap and leg correctly, great sized stitches, a born knitter! I then went about my business, and the young lady walked up to me with money, saying thank you. When I told her to keep the money, her mother came around the corner, they were both astounded.
As I told them, I was so happy to see someone her age picking up this wonderful craft. Helping someone to understand it, to me, is its own payment.